.jpg) Boussoufa withMorocco in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mbark Boussoufa[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1984-08-15)15 August 1984 (age 41) | ||
| Place of birth | Amsterdam, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder,winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1995 | Middenmeer | ||
| 1995–1996 | Fortius | ||
| 1996–2001 | Ajax | ||
| 2001–2004 | Chelsea | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2006 | Gent | 59 | (14) |
| 2006–2011 | Anderlecht | 137 | (43) |
| 2011–2013 | Anzhi Makhachkala | 55 | (8) |
| 2013–2016 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 39 | (3) |
| 2016 | →Gent (loan) | 5 | (2) |
| 2016–2018 | Al Jazira | 37 | (7) |
| 2019 | Al-Shabab | 13 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | Al-Sailiya | 15 | (3) |
| Total | 360 | (81) | |
| International career | |||
| 2006–2019 | Morocco | 70 | (8) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Moubarak "Mbark"Boussoufa (Arabic:مُبارك بوصوفة; born 15 August 1984) is a former professionalfootballer who played as anattacking midfielder orwinger. He won theBelgian Golden Shoe in 2006, 2009, and 2010.[3] Born in the Netherlands, he played for theMorocco national team from 2006 to 2019 making 70 appearances and scoring eight goals.
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Boussoufa started off at the youth academy ofAjax before joiningChelsea F.C. He spent the 2005–06 season withK.A.A. Gent, winning several prizes in 2006:Belgian Golden Shoe,Belgian Footballer of the Year,Belgian Young Footballer of the Year andBelgian Ebony Shoe.
In June 2006, Boussoufa signed a four-year contract withR.S.C. Anderlecht after a €3.5 million transfer.[4] In hisfirst season he was a regular in the title-clinching squad. He became a key player for the team that finished second in both the2007–2008 and the2008–09 seasons. Boussoufa was named Belgian Footballer of the Year for a second time after the 2008–09 season in which Anderlecht barely missed out on the title, losing theChampionship play-off againstStandard de Liège. Thenext year, he managed 14 goals and 24 assists which made him the most valuable player in Anderlecht's championship-winning squad. He was named Belgian Footballer of the Year for a second consecutive time and the third time overall. After the season, he renewed his contract with a significant raise, making him the best paid footballer in Belgium.[5] He won the Belgian Golden Shoe for the second time in 2010.[3]
In March 2011, Russian sideFC Terek Grozny announced his signing,[6] but his transfer fell through three days later. Instead, Boussoufa signed for another Russian team,Anzhi Makhachkala.[7]
Boussoufa signed a three-year contract withFC Lokomotiv Moscow in August 2013.[8] With Lokomotiv he won the 2015 Russian Cup, scoring the second goal as they beatKuban Krasnodar 3–1 after extra time in the final.[9] He returned to K.A.A. Gent on loan from in February 2016.[10]
In July 2016, Boussoufa signed a two-year contract withUAE clubAl Jazira.[11] He made 16 appearances and scored three times as Al-Jazira went on to win the 2016-17 UAE Arabian Gulf League.[12][13]
On 3 January 2019, Boussoufa signed a contract until the end season with Saudi clubAl-Shabab.[14]
Eligible to play for bothMorocco andThe Netherlands, Boussoufa chose to represent Morocco and made his international debut against theUSA on 23 May 2006.
Boussoufa has represented Morocco atAfrica Cup of Nations tournaments; in2012,2017 and2019.
In May 2018, he was named in Morocco's 23-man squad for the2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, where he was a starting player in all three of their games.[15]
On 5 July 2019, Boussoufa announced his retirement after Morocco's loss againstBenin in the round of 16, 4–1 in penalties (following a 1–1 draw), in the2019 Africa Cup of Nations.[16]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Gent | 2004–05 | Belgian First Division | 29 | 5 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 32 | 5 | ||
| 2005–06 | 28 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 | – | 38 | 11 | |||
| 2006–07 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 59 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 16 | ||
| Anderlecht | 2006–07 | Belgian First Division | 33 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 0 | – | 46 | 10 | |
| 2007–08 | 22 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 0 | – | 35 | 8 | |||
| 2008–09 | 33 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 11 | ||
| 2009–10 | 26 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 53 | 18 | ||
| 2010–11 | 23 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 1 | – | 35 | 11 | |||
| Total | 137 | 43 | 23 | 6 | 36 | 4 | 12 | 5 | 208 | 58 | ||
| Anzhi | 2011–12[17][18] | Russian Premier League | 25 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 39 | 7 |
| 2012–13[17] | 26 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 2 | – | 44 | 6 | |||
| 2013–14[17] | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 55 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 13 | 3 | 87 | 13 | ||
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 2013–14[17] | Russian Premier League | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 21 | 2 | |
| 2014–15[17] | 17 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | 21 | 4 | |||
| 2015–16[17] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 39 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 6 | ||
| Gent | 2015–16[18] | Belgian Pro League | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 |
| Al Jazira | 2016–17[17] | UAE Pro-League | 21 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1[a] | 0 | 29 | 8 |
| 2017–18[17] | 16 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 5[b] | 0 | 31 | 3 | ||
| Total | 37 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 60 | 11 | ||
| Al-Shabab | 2018–19[17] | Saudi Pro League | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| Al-Sailiya | 2019–20[17] | Qatar Stars League | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 360 | 81 | 45 | 13 | 77 | 8 | 31 | 8 | 512 | 110 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | 2006 | 5 | 1 |
| 2007 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 7 | 3 | |
| 2012 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 13 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 7 | 1 | |
| Total | 70 | 8 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 September 2006 | Stade Moulay Abdellah,Rabat, Morocco |  Malawi | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 2 | 9 February 2011 | Stade de Marrakech,Marrakech, Morocco |  Niger | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 2–0 | |||||
| 4 | 9 October 2011 | Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech, Morocco |  Tanzania | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 5 | 29 February 2012 | Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech, Morocco |  Burkina Faso | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 6 | 13 October 2014 | Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech, Morocco |  Kenya | 2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 7 | 31 May 2017 | Stade Adrar,Agadir, Morocco |  Netherlands | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 8 | 1 July 2019 | Al Salam Stadium,Cairo, Egypt |  South Africa | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations |
Anderlecht[20]
Anzhi Makhachkala
Lokomotiv Moscow
Al Jazira
Individual
Morocco squads | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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